School of Conservation Leadership

1. Fishing in the Natural State

At least one classroom/teacher must implement and teach the required 5 lessons outlined in the Fishing in the Natural State curriculum.

Curriculum, equipment and resources will be provided to support the lesson implementation once a staff member has attended a required FINS professional development with AGFC staff.

As part of the curriculum, students must complete a conservation project.

School must host a fishing derby for the students of their school.  We recommend that the derby be open to families, but is not required.  

**Derbies can be combined with other School of Conservation Leadership schools in your area.

Conservation Fine Arts Project

Students must complete TWO conservation-themed fine arts projects.  

**The level of involvement/number of students participating can be determined by the school. We do recommend a minimum of one class participation. 

• 1 project must have a general Arkansas Game and Fish Commission focus 
• 1 project must have a reuse, recycle, repurpose or sustainability focus

Wildlife Education Grant

Schools must submit at least ONE application for the AGFC Wildlife Education Grant with the intent of providing equipment and/or opportunities for the students on the campus seeking designation as a School of Conservation Leadership.

**You do not have to receive a grant, but must apply during the current school year. Schools that submit their Letter of Commitment during the early enrollment period will receive priority consideration for funding opportunities provided the request meets all funding requirements. 

Geographic Information System (GIS) Project

Schools must complete at least ONE project using GIS tools related to outdoor recreation, conservation or environmental science.

**The level of involvement/number of students participating can be determined by the school.

* See examples below

Teacher Professional Development

Schools are required to participate in SIX professional development opportunities and should include a minimum of THREE different staff members in total. 

All schools must attend:

• Fishing in the Natural State (FINS) Professional Development*
• Stream Team Professional Development*
• School of Conservation Leadership Overview for Administrators (must be completed prior to the end of the first semester. Summer, in-person and virtual options will be available with multiple dates for each.)

*Denotes that previously attended courses can count towards these requirements.

Three additional professional development opportunities should be based on school needs and can be obtained in-person, virtually or via the AGFC Learning Management System (LMS).

**See Examples Below

** Artifact included in the Phase 2 application as evidence

Hunter Education or Boater Education

Must offer at least one of the following to students: 

• Traditional Hunter Education Course (10 hours)
• Boater Education (6 hours) 
• Introduction to Hunter Education K-2 Grade Band (5 Lessons taught by the classroom teacher)
• Introduction to Hunter Education 3-5 Grade Band (5 Lessons taught by the classroom teacher)

*Can be supported by AGFC staff

Guest Lectures from Conservation Professionals and Community/Industry Partners

Schools will provide THREE experiences on campus where guest lectures highlight and promote conservation and/or nature themed learning content for students.  

**At least 3 different classes or grade levels must be involved in the experiences.

**At least one lecture or partnership should inspire action in conservation that could be used as an extension or required project. 

*See Unit Requirements in Arkansas Outdoor Education Initiative Resources. 

Stream Team

Team of students and teacher(s) participate in citizen science data collection of a water way near school location or community. Students will participate in the following activities throughout the school year. 

• Water quality monitoring 
• Macroinvertebrate analysis 
• Habitat improvements and restoration

Curriculum and resources will be provided to support the lesson implementation once a staff member has attended a required Stream Team professional development with AGFC staff.

Arkansas Outdoor Education Initiative Resource

Utilize the Arkansas Outdoor Education Initiative curriculum resources developed in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Education and participate in outdoor education experiences.

• Each grade level will teach 2 units in the categories of Fishing, Hiking/Camping, Outdoor Recreation, Water Quality/Safety, Biking and Wildlife (units consist of 1 lesson, 1 experience and 1 project). 
• Each grade level will complete 50 hours of outdoor education experiences during the school year.

**Teacher/Point of Contact will need to create and utilize the provided AGFC Learning Management System to access curriculum resources. 

Generation Conservation Summit

Students must compete in at least ONE Generation Conservation Summit competition.

**Competition can include a pre-summit classroom-based competition, regional competition or onsite competition.

Nature Center or Hatchery Visit

Engage in programming offered by AGFC staff that aligns with other conservation projects 

** Must go beyond a basic tour of the center or hatchery

Shooting Sports Program

School will offer and support at least one of the following Shooting Sports Programs:

School-Based Non-Competitive Options:

• Air Rifle must be offered to students during the school day by at least 1 BARI certified instructor.

Archery in the Schools (AIS)

• Archery must be offered to students during the school day by at least 1 BAI certified instructor.

Competitive Team Options:

Archery In the Schools

• 10 hours of in class instruction
• Each team requires a minimum of 5 practices 
• Must compete in at least 1 regional and/or state competition

Youth Shooting Sports

• All team members must have hunter education
• Participate in a minimum of 5 team practices
• Must compete in at least 1 regional and/or state competition

AGFC Leadership Council

Schools will encourage and support the participation in one of three AGFC Leadership Council memberships and the requirements of each.

**Participation can be on one of the following councils:

• Student Leadership Council
• Teacher Leadership Council
• Administrators of Conservation Education

**Participation in an AGFC leadership council is application-based and would require a member to be selected for this requirement to be fulfilled.

Generation Conservation Club

School will support the formation of a Generation Conservation Club for their students.

• Club should meet a minimum of ONE time per quarter.
• Club should be designed to support and encourage participation in Generation Conservation Summit competitions and overall conservation efforts/projects in your school. 

**Generation Conservation Club can be supported by AGFC staff and equipment when available. Please follow the guidelines for requesting support from the AGFC Education Division here. 

Examples of Conservation Project: 

• Storm water drainage on campus 
• Stream bank restoration 
• Native tree planting 

Examples of GIS Project: 

• Places to fish 
• Pollinator habitat points
• Wildlife observation points

 Examples of Art Project: 

• Reusing recyclable or non-recyclable materials 
• Objects creating the AGFC logo 
• Species in your region

Examples of Professional Development Opportunities:

• School of Conservation Leadership Educator Overview
• Arkansas Outdoor Education Initiative Curriculum Overview
• Conservation professional development at an AGFC nature center (Ex. EcoTourism in The Natural State)
• Hunter Education Training
• Boater Education Training
• Basic Archery Instructor Certification (BAI)
• Basic Air Rifle Instructor Certification (BARI)
• GIS in the Classroom
• Generation Conservation Summit Overview (must be the registered Generation Conservation point of contact)
• Nature themed professional development from an outside provider
• Any online course available through the AGFC Learning Management System

The application process is the actual application itself.

Schools will upload artifacts, evidence, and rationale through the assigned template and provided upload folder.

Schools will also upload any relevant artifacts such as photos, video links, news articles, etc. to help support their claim to earn the designation.

AGFC education leadership will be on-site to view the showcase and complete final evaluations. 

• 1-2 hours in total 
• Could be: student presentation, panel, school tour, video showcase, project displays and presentations, or any way that your campus can showcase that you should be recognized as an AGFC School of Conservation Leadership.